I Got Stabbed
by TheAlmightyOneofLegends
Summary: This story follows the events in a city after the tragedy. What happened? The main characters of Danganronpa and later installments of the series only appear as minor characters, if at all. Different things happen as perspectives change. A man out for revenge, a hospital worn from the destruction of the world, and many more to come. Rated M for death and cursing.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you for deciding to read this story out of all the options that there are. Most of the characters in this are not from the games/anime/manga so hopefully, that makes things a bit interesting.

This will be the only author's note as I personally believe these notes break the mood of the work. The only exception to that is if there is a mistake in the order or some other kind of mishap.

So please, enjoy!

* * *

What is revenge? Many things can be categorized as good or bad, black or white, Yin and Yang. But somethings are referred to as 'gray' because they neither.

So then, what is revenge? Revenge is a subjective beast. It beats, steals, but it's also how things can finally settle.

I lived in a city another country for a while. I was studying abroad in college then it happened.

It was a beautiful day, but not in the cliché way you're thinking of. It was raining outside, the clouds were broody and the fog settled just right. And on that day, I was hungry so I went to Denny's.

I was dirt poor—what else would you expect from a college student?

So I had ordered pancakes and I was waiting for them to arrive, and the sound of a scream rang out. A slinking teenager walked in. He had knocked over a glass jar. He was drooling, muttering something. That long, thin black hair and that boney face are things I will never forget.

He looked right at me, taking long strides until his eyes were up against mine. I could tell that the dust settled in the restaurant, as the silence meant that everyone was waiting to see what would happen next.

Then, I saw a sliver of steel and next thing I knew, there's a knife in my stomach.

It feels like when you get a nasty splinter in your foot that keeps getting wedged further and further in. That tiny insufferable pain multiplied a thousand times.

The kid tilted his head and smiled.

"How does Despair feel?"


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed, but I wasn't alone. The hospital was packed. So many people had gotten injured. Assaults, mass suicides, murders…what is this?

Every patient who could move their head had their eyes locked onto one small TV screen located in the middle of the room. Something about students in some school. Wasn't that the one that raised prodigies? Grit's Summit School. That's what it was called. Something like that.

The students seem to have been kidnapped for some reason or another. I looked at myself. I'm a captive, too. I was covered entirely by bandages and there was a needle in my arm. It's numb, but I don't feel bad.

Oh yeah, I was stabbed. The more I tried to escape, the more the bandages encased me.

Why do they keep watching those students? Why are they on TV anyways? So stupid.

One of the patients screamed out. Evidentially, the students found a body. I didn't totally get what was going on because I didn't understand this damn language, but if there are real bodies on live TV, then we got real lax with our policies or the world went to shit. Judging by how the news always goes, it's the latter.

These people keep yelling about the Baddest-Bad-Something—I don't know. Fuck it.

You know what? I never got my damn pancakes. I knew that once I got out of that craphole, that the stabbin' lunatic was next in the body count.

Damn it! Damn it! I couldn't move and this nurse kept coming by. She was really strange in the way she acted. She was usually nervous and stammered her words, but around those who couldn't move, she talked about junk in an obsessive tone. Like a creepy sexual tone. Junk. Was she a hoarder? Who the hell would hoard junk?

She thought I was in a coma, so she showed her true nature around me. Everyone praised her as being the Very-Best-Student-Something-Nurse—Fuck it. This language was stupid. That nurse was stupid. So, I decided that I was outta' there.

I gathered up all the strength I had and pushed upwards. The bandages ripped off, and I tore the needle out of my arm. Suddenly, I was fatigued. What kind of crap did they drug me with?

My stomach felt fine, despite being the part bandaged the most. Healed up nicely. I must have been out for a while. I have white hair, too. Seriously, what the hell did they do while I was out?

Ah well, I just need to find the guy who stabbed me. Do they have records here?

I stood up and leapt up onto my feet. It took me a while to get my balance, but no one even noticed that I was awake. The records were located inside a metal clipboard hanging on the side of my bed. So sneaky.

I took the records and shoved them in my hospital gown as I couldn't understand all of it. I need to find a bilingual person. From what I could tell, it talked about my wound as well as containing a picture of the guy who stabbed me. The whole report was about 20 pages long. 20 pages? Really? That much about a stab to the chest?

Outside was hell. I heard an explosion and a large building began to collapse. Everyone seemed to be in a frenzy. I found a dead guy and took his clothes. They were covered in blood but bloodied jeans are better than a hospital gown, so that's what I wore.

I wandered around for a while looking for someone who could speak English.

There was a guy mumbling something.

Got one!

I kicked him down an alleyway. It's nice when everything is chaotic. No one cares what you do. A gun fell out of his pocket and I picked it up.

"Eigo da."

The guy seemed very confused. He responded with some really long words.

"Do you speak English godamn it!"

"Uh, yes. I do."

His accent was so thick, I could barely understand what he was saying. I held the hospital records to his face.

"Can you translate this." It was a command.

"Uh, yes. I think I can."

He grabbed it and flipped through the pages.

"Uh…A guy named Pete—"

"That's me."

"Well, uh, you got stabbed by a high-school student and were taken to the hospital."

"Cut the crap. I know that, moron."

He scanned through it a bit more.

"You were sent into a…coma?…", he muttered something using the word 'word', "You were in a coma for a couple days and…"

"And?"

"They messed with your brain a bit."

"That bitch."

"Huh?"

"I never told you to stop."

"The results are unknown as you hadn't woken up. They wanted to give you a temper to destroy things." He began mumbling. "Which is true."

"What did you say?"

He made a meeping sound.

"What was the stabber's name?"

"The stabber?" He flipped around. "Her name is…Takei…Mizoru."

"Thanks."

I snatched the papers from his nervous grip. Poor guy thought I would kill him. Well, I might have.

"What are you going to do with this?"

"Kick his ass."

"But…"

"Or stab him. One or the other."

I tossed the gun back at him.

"You dropped this."


	3. Chapter 3

Taeki Mizoru, huh? That emo-kid. Seriously, who goes to a restaurant and stabs the first person they see?

The more I looked around, the more shitty everything seemed. There were dead bodies and a ton of people wearing this black and red mask. Strange, huh?

I came across a warehouse where they were passing out those masks. They gave me one as well as a book, but I couldn't read it, so I threw both on the ground. However, they gave me two grenades and a knife. Now those'll come in handy.

I asked one of the masked people if they knew this Taeki guy and they said that he was their leader. They gave me a map and pointed out where he lived.

Finally, someone who I could understand.

I followed the map and came to an apartment and lifted myself up the stairs to the third floor. The door was unlocked so I went in.

Pink. Pink everywhere. Pink, the color of blood, so vibrant in nature. All these people were killed in elegant ways. Just splattered around, like a little girl's playroom.

Bodies lined on the ground, the roof, the walls. They were everywhere. I must have been this fucker's first try. Looks like he improved.

That Taeki guy walked into the room and quickly jumped behind a wall as soon as he saw me.

"C'mon. I'm waiting."

He yelled something back that I couldn't understand. He peeked into this room and noticed that I appeared to be unarmed.

Slinky bastard. He looked exactly the same. He just drooled more. I may not have a gun, but I got two grenades who would mind a divorce.

He didn't have a gun either; evident by how the bodies were killed. All stab wounds.

"I kill you." He spoke in broken English.

"Same."

He shook his head.

"I killed you."

Ah, so that's what it was.

"I kill you ag—"

Pluck off the pin, hear the twang of metal, throw like a baseball and…Run!

I jumped out the front door, slammed it shut and hid behind the wall. I never knew that killing someone would be this fun. No. It's just that this guy's a dick.

I walked back in to check on him. He was in the kitchen. Damn fucker was still alive. He took out that knife of his.

He does realize that I have two of these.

I pulled the pin and threw it right at his face. I ran. It blew up and when the smoke cleared, he had tried to run away but it injured him severely.

As I stepped carefully towards him, he began to whimper.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm…"

He kept repeating that mantra. The moment one looks at someone in such a miserable state like that. Their legs shredded, shrapnel in their torso, one may question why they're doing what their realization of horror is what makes things like guilt and despair come into thought.

But for me, it didn't happen. I didn't feel anything. I, a college student, didn't feel remorse or pity. It was apathy.

Absolutely nothing. The adrenaline was just that. A chemical. If this man got treatment, he would live. Then why did I just stand there? Would I have done this before this tragedy? Was it the operation?

No. I've always felt this way. We've always felt this way. They feign fear but really, revenge is best served cold. Revenge is sweet and has a good flavor.

Then why'd I drag this man to the hospital? Did I think he'd get the same treatment as me? Why did I help him if I felt nothing?

Maybe that little flutter of life told me to have hope.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm in a hospital. It's quite drab inside. So depressing. Blood, wounds, death. I want to curl up into a ball and whimper, but I'm too drowsy to move. I'm locked down, anyways. I try to scream, but cloth fills my mouth.

A nurse sits on a small stood near my bed. Don't come near. Please, go away. She just stares as if she's inspecting a product.

Her mouth moves. She speaks. Everything sinks at once. Am I deaf? Is that it? I don't hear anything. Something's in my ears. Cotton? The nurse plucked whatever it was out.

"I'm sorry. I had to keep you like that for a bit. Your expression was too despair-filled."

Do I know her? I hope not.

"Should I tear off your mask so that the other patients rip you to shreds? Or should I give them all books so you can lead them to hell?"

She winces.

"I wanted to have some fun with this ward, but unfortunately, she called. I saw her message. _Junko's_."

She twitches and starts to shake. What is she doing? She suddenly calms down.

"She wants us. So I'll leave this hospital to you, Mizoru. You'll spread our despair. After all, you're one of us."

She stands up and takes her leave. I pray that she'll never come back.

Huh?

I can move. My legs aren't chained down anymore. I pull myself up and stand on my two legs. I almost fall over but grab onto the side of my bed just in time. I have prosthetics. My legs are but stumps. Did I lose them in an accident or was I born that way? I don't know. I quickly jump back onto my bed, as I am not stable walking around. I probably just got these. I am not used to these at all.

I sit a bit, regaining my energy. It's so quiet in here. No one talking at all. A different nurse occasionally shuffles around the room, not making eye-contact. There's stapled pieces of paper attached to a clipboard on the end of my bed. I pick it up and begin to read it.

Evidently, I got injured by an explosion and sustained large amounts of injuries to my legs and torso. The medical staff had to do something to my head because it was beat up so badly. It doesn't state what they did. They put on plastic and metal prosthetics. I've been out for a long time.

I noticed a stack of papers attached to the end of my bed. It was a report about my injuries. 'Taeki Mizoru'? There's a picture. He's really skinny and has long, coarse black hair. He looks like he's depressed or something. Why is this on my bed?

Wait second. Is that me? No. It couldn't be. I don't remember. I don't even remember my name. Not even my family. Do I have amnesia?

I guess, in a heartwarming sense, that Taeki Mizoru is my name.

These papers describe my injury as an explosion, probably from a grenade. They also describe various cut scars across my skin, especially my wrist. I check my wrist. I do have the scars. Did I used to cut myself? What kind of life did I have? I put the photo in my gown.

That nurse said that if I take off these bandages that the patients will kill me. I can't really imagine that, seeing how all of them are always asleep, but I really shouldn't question something like that.

Well, I shouldn't dwell on it. I should try to get out of here. I sigh. I could ask a nurse or try to wake someone up.

Oh yeah. I can't talk.

I rip off the lower half of the bandages covering my face. I spit out a cloth dyed pink with my own blood onto the floor.

Gross.


	5. Chapter 5

No one ever pays any attention to me. Their eyes are locked onto the TV screen. Everyone's in a trance. Maybe something's stopping them.

I watched the TV for a bit, to see if it was hypnotizing them, but it's just static, like you finished a great movie and are so stunned that your sit there for a couple minutes. But this is hours. Days, probably.

Now that I look closely, they're all hooked up to IVs. Yet I don't have one. Are they being drugged? They don't seem to be that injured. If I took them out, would anyone notice? I'm scared. What if someone sees me? What if someone catches me?

No. These people are dead-like, I can't just leave them.

How do I get over there? I can't walk yet. My eyes are drawn to the stool the purple-haired nurse sat on. It has wheels. It'll be awkward with these prosthetics, so I should take them off. It'll help to know how to take them off in case they get damaged.

After fumbling around for a couple minutes, I figure out that I have to unclip some things and pull off this suction and…Ah! There we go.

I put them on the end of my bed for later. I wiggle to the edge of the bed and push the stool close to my torso. I slide onto it, careful that it doesn't roll and make me fall onto the ground.

Whew. Got on.

I push off of my bed with my arms and roll to the bed previously to my right. Despite all the noise, no one draws their eyes towards me.

Close to the bed, I reach over and fish fir the needle. I rip off the adhesive and slowly pull it out, not wanting to injure him. It's quite painful watch, but I have to keep my focus or I'll hurt him even worse.

After it's out, I set it next to him. The wound bleeds pink for a bit, but I think he's fine. I put my fingers to his neck and feel for his pulse. Thank god he has one.

I scoot back to my bed and pull myself up. I'm burnt out. I have to sleep. Still, I feel disappointed. Nothing's happened to him. It's been a couple minutes, but nothing. Was I wrong? No, we'll see when I wake up. For now, it's a 'Good Night'.

…

…

I feel a cold touch onto my face. The icy tingle is the thing that snaps me out of bed. My eyes shoot open and I sit up with great speed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Someone backs up, shocked by my startled movements. He falls over but quickly gets back up.

"Ah, sorry. I woke you up."

"No, it's fine. You just scared me a bit."

"Ah! You're talking! Both of the nurses wouldn't respond so I got up and tried to wake you up. Do you know what happened?"

"One of the nurses drugged the IVs, so I pulled yours out."

"D-Drugged?"

"Did you read your injury report?"

"Injury report?"

"It should be a bunch of papers on a clipboard. Attached to the end of your bed."

He walks over, finds it, and flips through it.

"My chin was cut off."

Now that I look closely, his chin is covered in thick bandages. It's hard to tell if it's there or not.

"Your…Chin?"

"Ah. Yeah. It was really painful. From what I remember, it was right after the tragedy. Someone was trying to cut my throat but the knife ended up going the other way." He scratches his head. "Well, it's a given considering how everything is now."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. You seem to be very injured yourself."

"About that…I would have pulled out the IVs for the others, but…" I pull the blanket off of what used to be my legs."As you can see, I can't exactly walk."

"Ah. I'll find a wheelchair for—"

"Pull the needles first. I can't really do anything, so it's better that they get a chance to wake up before I get a chance to move around."

"Ah, okay then."

He walks around a slowly releases each patient from their slumber. Of course, they don't wake up right away. By the time the first awakens, I'm already got my legs on, sitting in a wheelchair. Part of my face is still covered, and I plan to keep it that way. Tatsuha, the one without a chin, asked me about it, and I said that I had shrapnel in my eyes. He didn't ask again.

The first one began to rise. She is a girl with long dirty blonde hair. Her dark roots are showing. Must be dyed. She is covered head-to-toe with bandages.

"G'morning!", she says, stretching.

"Ah, hello."

"Is this a hospital?"

"Yes."

"I was walking in a plaza a couple seconds ago…"

"Uh…" Tatsuha hands her the report on the end of her bed.

"Read that." I call out from the distance.

She does. She's a bit shocked by the result.

"Haaaah?! I was gunned down by a machine gun? When did that happen? Uwaaaaa…What has life come to?"

She later introduced herself as Suika Tezuka. She's not the brightest, but I guess she's nice. Evidentially, she was out of commission before the Tragedy, which I learned was the start of the apocalypse. Well, no one calls it the apocalypse, but that's probably because no one wants to admit the world ended.

Ha…

Evidentially, she was out of commission before the Tragedy, which I learned was the start of the apocalypse. Well, no one calls it the apocalypse, but that's probably because no one wants to admit the world ended.


	6. Chapter 6

The beds are lined up in pairs. Eight pairs. Only ten woke up. There's only seven of us alive, well, now anyways.

The fifth one who woke up was a woman. Her eyes shot open and she got off the bed. Bloodshot pink. She grabbed a pair of scissors off of a nearby nightstand and stabbed someone who hadn't woken up yet. Well, they're awake now.

Screaming. It echoed through the halls.

It was just Tatsuha, Suika and I, despite the fourth person waking up. We couldn't get his name because he started mumbling something and trembling uncontrollably. We let him go back to sleep. The scream didn't even wake him up.

The woman kept stabbing and we stood and watched, not believing what we were seeing. It didn't really shock me all that much. I just assumed that this is what the world was like. Perhaps that's why I slammed my wheelchair into her.

"Grab her!"

Suika and Tatsuha are pulled out of shock and jump, pinning her down. She struggles but can't deflect the strength of two people.

We tied her with bandages to the bed and she struggled for a while, but calmed after she realized that she couldn't do anything.

By the time the twelfth person awoke, we had found out that many were already dead. After the incident with the crazy woman, we made sure to watch those who hadn't awoken. After all, they could be like her.

The last one rose. Grey hair, blue eyes. It's this type of person. He sat up and spread his hands wide.

"Hello world! What'ch you been up to?"

I was wrong. Definitely not that kind of person.

No one responded to his question.

"Huh? Oh yeah. The Tragedy."

"Do you remember anything that happened?"

Tatsuha handed him the report. I didn't even need to tell him anymore.

"I got stabbed."

He looked through the report. He pulled out a photo and pushed it into my face.

"This was him! Taeki Mizoru? Her? Him!"

That's me. Oh shit. Shit shit shit. This is why I didn't take off my mask.

"My name's Kin Kas—"

We heard a tearing sound and I immediately knew what it was.

"She broke the bandages!"

Everyone turned around. It was too late. Scissors in hand, she slashed the closest person to her, a man named Naki. He screamed and yelled and we pinned her down but it was too late. He was bleeding out. One of the nurses vanished, but the one that didn't just stared at the pink gush from his neck. Murata grabbed her and yelled. He was the seventh who woke up.

"What the fuck are you doing! Help him!"

No response.

Murata let go of the nurse and grabbed the scissors.

"You know what, woman? You killed two of us, so we kill you."

There were no objections.


	7. Chapter 7

Now, everyone is silent. As if by instinct, all those who could move put all the bodies on a single bed. Blood was covering the floor. The pink had become brown now.

There are seven of us. Myself, Tatsuha, Suika, the silent one, Murata, a girl, and Kin. No one questions anything because if we did, we would admit that we have become what makes this horrible world.

It feels horrible sitting here. Looking at the despair-filled woman, blonde hair, brown eyes. She's beautiful, yet we slit her throat. With the two she killed, she lays with them. I took her injury report and stuffed it in my gown. I don't want to read it. It makes me sick just looking at it. Her name's Shimizu Tae. I did look at that.

"Capi."

Suika is the first one to make any kind of noise.

"Hey, Capi."

Who is she talking to?

"Capi!"

"Suika, what are you doing?"

"Getting your attention."

"What's 'Capi'?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Capitan."

"It's Captain."

"You're the leader. What should we do Capi?"

"I'm no leader."

"I think you're good." Not you too, Tatsuha.

"I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I have amnesia. I don't know about this world. I don't even remember my parents. Plus, I can't even walk."

"Then let's vote." That is Murata's voice.

I don't respond.

"Everyone raise your hand if you vote him for Captain."

Everyone but the lone girl in the back raises their hands. She raises her foot. Everyone stares.

"Hey, my vote still counts."

Like myself in reverse, she doesn't have arms. When she woke up, her report said that there was someone going around slashing off body parts until you were just a head. She managed to keep her legs and torso. Her name's Togashi.

Everyone turns there attention back to me. Of course, I don't vote for myself.

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

I groan.

"Captain, I suggest we leave the hospital."

"Capi. We should jump out the windows."

"Captain."

"Leader."

"Shut up!"

It gets silent all at once.

"We're going to get one of the nurses to talk to us. One of them vanished, but there's still the other. Like us, she's human, too." Well, hopefully we are.

Kin grabs the nurse and guides her over to us.

"Here you go, Cap'. What'd we do with her?"

I flick her in the face. Nothing.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

"Ugh. Nurse, I'm not feeling well."

Still, nothing.

"Anyone have a blunt object?"

"I got a bat."

"Knock her out."

Bam!

…

A while later, she sits up rather slowly. She subs her eyes. All seven of us stare at her, half expecting something, half already disappointed.

"Uh…What's going on here?"

We let out a collective sigh. She's not infected. Thank god. From what I understand, Despair runs like a virus. As long as she doesn't have it, we're good.

"I'm in a hospital bed."

"Well, Ms.…"

"Sachiko Saito."

"Well, Ms. Saito, you've been out for quite a while."

We explain what has happened the past couple days, everyone piping in their own opinion. Murata is very bitter towards her.

"Do you know what happened to the other nurses? We haven't seen them for a while."

"Well, there was a man named Toza Mado and a woman named Mikan Tsumiki. Ms. Tsumiki was a genius. She could do any sort of procedure. She came from Hope's Peak Academy. I'm not sure why she came here though."

"Do you know where either of them went?"

"No. I'm sorry. These past few months are a blur. After the Tragedy. After Ms. Tsumiki came now that I think about it…"

There is a lengthy silence.

"So what are we doing now?"

"Cap'? Got any ideas?"

"Well, we have the option of splitting up. That way you can go home and see if you can find your family. Or we could try to find a sanctuary."

"Captain.", Tatsuha talks. "How many horror movies have you seen?"

Togashi smacks him with her foot.

"He has amnesia. How would he even know if he had?"

He completely ignores her.

"Never split up! That's the rule!"

"Let's vote, then." Like last time, it's Murata.

"Who votes to go our separate ways?"

The nurse Saito raises her hand shaking.

"I have a request."

"Go on.", I say.

"Two, actually. One of my friends lived in a rich neighborhood near here. Maybe she has some food stored up."

"And the second?"

"Oh, it's just that the boy over there hasn't said or done anything. I'm worried."

"So are we splitting up or not?"

"Look for yourself."

No one's hands are raised.

"Okay then."

"We should check on the kid.", I say as I roll over to him. He doesn't even notice I'm right next to him.

"Hello?"

He jumps back a bit.

"Sorry."

He doesn't look at me.

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you."

He whimpers.

"Come on…"

"…"

"What's your name?"

"…Oda."

Okay…

"I'm…I'm so scared."

Hey, got something.

"Whatever it is, tell us."

"…I can't see."

"Are you blind?"

"Yeah. I am."

That's it?

"I…I was part of a gang, you know. I'd ride a bike. Now I can't. That's the only thing I ever loved. Now he's dead. Older Brother Oowada and Younger Brother Oowada. They're both dead. Dead."

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It's not black. It's not white. Just nothing. I can't describe it."

For a split second I saw something in him. Something like that woman. Shimizu Tae. But it vanished. We're safe. Despair can't infect without the book.

I put my hand on his back.

"It's okay. Just follow us and you'll get used to having no sight. Hey, I got no legs."

"I don't have arms."

"I don't have a chin."

"A chin?" He cackles and more tears fly onto the sheets. "What?"

"Hey, Nurse. Are there any walking canes around here?"

"There should be some in the supply room, but that's a couple floors below here."

"Do you have an elevator?"

"We should."

I sigh. Otherwise, someone would have to carry me and that would be very awkward.

We get to the elevator and press the button. It takes a couple seconds, but then it works. When we get in, Saito uses her key to let us go underground.

"What if this thing falls or something?"

"There's stairs."

Tatsuha immediately goes for the stairs.

"See you guys down there."

"Don't die."

The doors slam shut.

As the elevator descends, it shakes, but we make it to the bottom floor okay. The doors open and we are greeted to an abundance of supplies.

"Wow. Everything's intact."

"Well, you do have to have a key to get down here. Only the janitor and myself have them."

"Why you?"

"The other janitor caught an illness and someone needed to take the key. I mean, it was just sitting there."

"Can have that wheelchair?"

It was really nice. It had electricity and manual movements. That would come in handy.

…

We got the cane for Oda as well as some darkening glasses. The nurse said that they block out damaging his eyes worse.

Anyways, this wheelchair is really cool. But I'm saving the energy for when I'll need it. It can go a lot faster than walking.

The nurse picked up some first aid kits for the road. She said that she didn't know what kind of stuff we would see once we got outside.

We get back into the elevator and go to the first floor. There was someone sitting on the floor. It's Tatsuha. He must have not been able to go down without a key.

"Hey, Tatsuha."

He looked up. His face was splattered with fuchsia. He was breathing heavily like he had been running from something.

"Ah, hello, Cap."

Suika runs towards him.

"Tatsuha! What happened!?"

"Ah, Suika. Hello."

Oda nudged Togashi with his cane. She was the closest person to him.

"What's going on?"

She groans and explains to him the events that transpire.

"Tatsuha! Why's there blood on your face?!"

She tries to wipe it off but it sticks to her hand.

"Ah, I killed a man, Suika."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tastuha, what happened?", I demand.

"Ah…I was walking down, then there was a guy with this red bear mask. He charged at me with a scalpel. He kept talking about how much he wanted to kill me. So I grabbed the closest thing to me and stabbed him with it." He looks up and me and smiles. "I was right. Never split up."

Something stirs within me and I stand. It's shaky, but I manage to walk forwards a couple steps. I fall onto my knees.

"It's okay, Tatsuha. Don't lose hope. We'll find a new home. We're here for you."


	8. Chapter 8

As a group of the eight of us walk down the desolate streets of a destroyed city, we gaze upon the world that most of us missed. The world I never knew. Except that I don't walk and Oda doesn't gaze. Togashi guides him around.

We're going to the house of the nurse's friend. She leads the way, but we often get lost because everything has fallen over. She doesn't remember something she's never experienced.

There's a bunch of bodies just lying around. As disgusted as we were, we replaced our hospital gowns with their clothing, or, if we were lucky, with clothing from inside nearby buildings.

"Hey! Guys! I found something!"

"What is it, Suika?"

"A gun!"

Over the course of our trip we found three of them. We gave them to Murata, Kin, and Tastuha because they were the healthiest and they were the most likely not to be too scared to shoot. After all, two of them had already killed using much more direct means. Luckily, we only had to shoot them a couple times and only as warning shots.

Hm…?

Where is everyone? I look around and no one's there. I've never been so alone. A icy sweat breaks out across my skin. It's cold out here. I'm unarmed. I can't even walk.

One of the people in the masks walk up to me. A child? They grab my hand and pull me away. They lead me to a warehouse. There's a ton of weapons here. And those masks, too. Grenades. The child leads me to what seems to be an office. There's a woman inside. She's quite pretty, too.

"Kid, who the hell is this?"

The kid motions to take off their mask. So the woman goes and takes off my mask. I feel like trying to stop her would make things only worse.

"Taeki!"

My first name. We must have been friends. So this woman must be in Despair. She jumps over and hugs me.

"After that American guy came around looking for you, I was sure you were dead. But I'm sure you got the better of him."

I actually don't remember. Now, I don't voice this as if I talk, she'll find out that I'm not who she thinks I am. And I'm not going up against and army of these masked people.

"Why the long face? Usually by now you'd be off on a speech about despair and why we should all kill ourselves."

Well then. I must have been quite the jolly fellow.

"Well, I guess you did get injured. Can you not speak?"

I take this chance and nod.

"Oh. Well. That's what your get for stabbing people. Although not being able to speak…I'm sure it's fun."

So I did stab Kin.

"The group you were commanding went haywire."

Group? I must be her subordinate. An officer for Despair.

"Well, in our case I guess that's a good thing, but I was supposed to regroup them. I got too lazy and they just went and wrecked your apartment. I wouldn't go back there if I were you. Especially considering your condition."

Well, I don't even know where it is, so I don't have to worry about that.

"Oh, Chikao was looking for you. He should be somewhere around here. Just ask one of the Monos."

Monos? Oh the people in the masks.

"When in doubt, you've always have pencil and paper."

I roll off. Should I go to this person 'Chikao'? They may question me if I don't, so I guess I'll go.

The Mono kid from earlier overheard our conversation and leads me over to him.

"Ah, Fucker. You're back."

"Fucker?" Shit.

"You. Who else could I be talking to? You were the one who told me to call you that."

Shit. Shit. Shit. I fucked up.

The Mono went away and we're alone in an office, much like the girl's.

"You are Taeki Mizoru, right?"

I didn't respond. It's best not to make things worse.

"I mean, it's okay if you aren't. People look like other people. I'm not going to kill you or anything. Obviously, Yumika messed up."

Yumika. That must be the girl's name.

"Actually, it's better if you aren't. I was looking for someone without Despair. What's your name?"

"Taeki Mizoru."

"Huh?"

"I _am_ Taeki Mizoru."

"Oh, okay."

What?! That easily?!

"Did that American get you? Oh wait, you probably don't remember. You must have amnesia."

"…Yeah. I don't remember anything." May as well tell the truth. He doesn't seem to be malevolent.

"Well, I'm Chikao Fukeiki. We both went to high-school together with Yumika, that girl you probably spoke to earlier."

Well that makes sense then.

"Anyways, you probably don't remember, but I'm deep into Despair, like everyone else here. Here's a trick. It's in the eyes. I have it right now."

He does look a bit crazed.

"But I have it a bit different.", he giggles, "My Despair is not Despairing. It's cool, right? By having Hope, I can never Despair. That's our goal. What Junko told us to do. I can't do that so I create Despair to those who want Despair."

What? I can't understand anything this guy is saying. Also, he's really creeping me out.

"It's a paradox, right?"

"Uh…Sure?"

"And that's why I want you. You can help me achieve that goal. Will you join me, Fucker?"

I can't help but snicker.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Do you prefer 'Mr. Mizoru' or 'Taeki'?"

"Uh…"

"I can go back to 'Fucker' if you want."

"No!", I stumble with my words. "Call me Cap."

"Cap? Like a baseball cap?"

What? "Uh, sure."

"Okay, Cap! What do you say? Shall we spread Hope?"

"When you say 'spread Hope', what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Get out of this warehouse, help the injured, rebuild society, kill Yumika."

What the hell? This guy is so simply minded. I need to play by his rules.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Killing is what makes us sad."

"Exactly. And I'm killing Yumika."

"Don't you think it would be better to make her one of us? Join the opposing side?"

"Wow, Cap! That sounds like a great idea! You're going to lead us into a new age of Despair! Or is it Hope?" He thinks about it for a bit. "How are we going to do that?"

"Uh…Let's go with your first option."

"Get out of this warehouse?"

"Yeah." Maybe I can get rid of this guy. He may help us, though. He does seem to know a lot about this world… He wants to help, but for the wrong reasons. I just hope he doesn't snap.

"Okay. We have around 100 grenades, and there's a C4 bomb in the back."

Huh? Wait. What?

"I said get out of here not des—Actually, destroying it may not be a bad thing."

"Less Despair means more Hope and more Hope mea—"

"Okay you can shut up now." I think I know why he called me 'Fucker'. Because that's what I called him.

"At your command, Cap."

"Don't you have any suggestions?"

"Uh…Well…I'm at your disposal. I don't give suggestions. It was a bit much to recommend blowing this place up, anyways."

I give him a confused expression. He looks up and me timidly.

"You and Yumika would always yell at me to do everything, so I'm not to keen on coming up with ideas. That's why I said that I'm at your disposal, Fu…", he smiles awkwardly, "Cap."

I'm suspicious, but let's test his obedience.

"These cement pillars.", I say, touching one, "How many of them are there?"

"Ten."

"Okay. Get me that C4 bomb and ten of those grenades. Oh, and tape, too."

"Okay."

He immediately goes off, not even questioning what I was going to do. He comes back with everything I ordered him to get.

"Here you go, Cap. What should I do now?"

"Do you see that big machine right there?"

"Yeah. That's where they make the parts for all the explosives."

"What I'm going to ask you to do is going to be tough and you have to do it quick, okay?"

"Okay."

"Take a grenade and throw it at each pillar. Don't get hit."

"Okay."

Okay?! How can you be that nonchalant about it?!

"Then, after that, climb onto the big machine and set the C4 to blow up in three minutes."

I have no idea how he's going to do that. To climb that machine would be suicide.

"Okay."

"Are you sure? It looks pretty risky."

"No, no. You'd always yell at me to climb up there and fix it. Yumika would sit back and laugh. You'd scowl and tell me to kill myself."

I guess I am the same person after all. I feel kinda bad for him, though.

"Okay, are you ready? I'll be outside by where the entrance would have been. I can't exactly walk so…"

"That's okay. That's why you got me, Cap."


	9. Chapter 9

Taeki. He's back. Yumika must have been ecstatic. I'm happy for her. But Taeki isn't Taeki anymore. I'm a bit concerned about that.

No!

This is better! I can use his influence as Taeki to help me. I'm so selfish. Why am I the only one who can find Hope in Despair?

Despair is what I want. Despair is created by sadness or any bad emotion, really. So by not having what I want, I create Despair, giving me what I want.

So really, I like Hope?

…

I guess. That's what Neweki said. He said to call him Cap. Well, if that's what he wants, I guess I'll call him that.

You see, Cap is the best. Taeki used to be super mean, but he was really smart and whatever he told me to do ended up giving others Despair. So I followed him. But Cap is different. He cares about what I think. Even scum like me. I Despair so much I Hope. What kind of messed up person am I? Do I even have the eyes anymore? Am I sane?

Of course I am. It's only logical to follow someone as smart and talented as Taeki. And that intelligence with someone so kind as Cap? How could I refuse someone like that? To me, his word is God's.

I'm to explode the place I've lived in for years. I don't feel bad. In fact, I'm excited. I can finally set out to accomplish something I want for a change. I can Hope.

I throw the grenade and a pillar blows up. All the Monos create chaos but it doesn't bother me. They would never suspect it was me.

Throw another, another, another…There we go. All the Monos are throwing grenades everywhere. But I still haven't set the C4.

Well, I have to do it. No choice.

I climb up the machine. One misstep and I plummet to my death.

I'm smiling.

This is my freedom. Finally free.

Three minutes. I bolt out of there as fast as I can and meet up with Cap.

Ah!

"It's going to blow!"

"Get on!"

He pulls me onto his chair. He pushes a button and the chair sprints ahead at higher speeds than I could run. We get a sizable distance from the warehouse and the whole thing falls in on itself in a massive explosion. The shockwave doesn't get to us but a bit of dust does. We're okay, though.

"You did it."

"Oh course. Anything for you, Cap."

Why did Cap stay out here while I risked my life? Why did I have to be the one to almost die? He was supposed to help me, wasn't he?

"Hey, Cap."

"Yeah?"

It hit me. It was all for me. So I could overcome my past. It wasn't that hard, really. Cap is such a great person. He let me do it myself, protecting himself while also making me prove my worth. This trust. It really makes me happy.

"Chikao?"

"Uh, yes? What do you need?"

"Well, you asked me, didn't you?"

"It was nothing. I just wanted to thank you."

"But you almost died."

"Exactly. I have freedom now. A new future. I can't Despair anymore. All I have is Hope."

A twisted feeling envelops my entire body.

"It's tearing me apart. I hate it so much. Thank you, Cap. It's all because of you."

He gives me a frightened expression, but I know he'll come to understand. I just have to Hope for it.

Hope.

Hehe.

It feels so strange using that word.

I think I like it.


	10. Chapter 10

The explosion was brilliant. I didn't think it'd be that beautiful and full of colors, but then again, I've never seen an explosion before so…

This guy actually did everything I asked. And lived. How?

We stopped at an intersection. I remember this place from when the Mono kid pulled me away. Maybe I can catch up with the others. Are they even looking for me? If not, I hope they found the place the Nurse was leading them to.

"So...What're we doing now, Cap?"

"I had some friends before I came across the warehouse. I'm looking for them."

"Do you want me to help?"

"I don't see why not."

Chikao and I look for Tastuha, Suika, Oda, Murata, Togashi, Kin, and the Nurse. We venture around the area, yelling out until our throats get sore. I don't think that we'll find them.

"Cap. Don't be sad. I'm sure that we'll find them. You just need to hope a bit more."

As twisted as I know his reasoning behind the word 'Hope' is, I do agree. We can't give up now. We've looked for so long.

"Capi!"

"Captain!"

"Cap'!"

"That's them!", I say excitedly. "Suika! Murata! Kin!"

Chikao nods and follows me as we trace back to the yelling. We finally see them. I leap up from my chair and stumble towards the whole group. I run into Oda, but he catches me as we are about to fall.

"Whoa there, Captain. Where's your wheelchair?"

I fall onto the ground as soon as I realize that I used my prosthetics again. It's really sore where my stumps are.

"Huh? Captain? Where'd you go?"

The Nurse grabs my hand and steadies me up.

"We really need to teach you how to walk again."

"We were worried sick for you, Captain. How the hell did you get lost?"

"That's the part that I'm worried about, too."

"Hey, Cap'. Who's that guy?" Kin points at him as if he were some sort of animal. He looks suspicious for some reason.

Chikao smiles timidly back as if waiting for my cue.

"Someone I found. His name is Chikao. He's a bit...off...but he knows a lot of information that we don't have, like where we are, where we can find a sanctuary."

"Really? Well, that's cool." He walks over to Chikao. "Hello, the name's Kin. Nice to meet'cha."

Chikao nods.

"Does he talk?"

"Yeah."

"Nice to meet you, to all seven of you."

"Hey, Cap'."

"Yeah?"

"What's your name?"

Oh shit. The mask. How could I forget the mask? Shit shit shit shit shit shit. Oh, course he'd recognize me. I stabbed him.

"Why?"

"I just thought about it and you never told us."

"Yeah, what is your name, Captain?"

"Your face is kinda weird. You were wearing a mask before, right?

"I...I don't remember. I have amnesia. Did you forget?"

"That's a lie, Cap'. Sorry, Mr. Mizoru. You stabbed me, how could I some'em forget that?"

He points his gun right at me. Am I going to die? I can feel Saito shivering. After all, she's helping me to stand. She'd be shot, too.

"Even then, I don't remember it. I'm a different person. I think."

That wasn't very convincing.

"Don't shoot, Kin." It's Saito. "Without Captain, I wouldn't be here. Both you and I would be dead. Or in a trance. Being asleep like that is as well as being dead."

"You just don't want me to shoot you too."

"Wouldn't I just have let go? Went to the six of you, hiding behind Kin's back. Here I am, supporting the man who saved me from Despair. Yet it wasn't just him. It was all of us. Why are we divided on saving a man? Even if he is crazed, even if he was still the man who stabbed you, what says that we shouldn't help him? He's not beyond help. After all, he helped us not even knowing about the shit that went on in this world. I'm a nurse. I can tell when a person is so broken that they have no choice but to die. This man, Mizoru, our Captain, whatever you want to call him, is our leader and we all decided that."

Something swelled up inside of me. These are the first people I've ever met. Why should these people care about me? Maybe they feel the same way. We're all alone here. We need something to hold onto.

"Capi is Capi and just that."

Suika joins Saito by my side.

"Even if there's just nothing spanning on and on forever, I see that you're a good person, Captain."

Oda feels his way over to our side. Togashi joins him. Then Tatsuha, then Murata. Kin lowers his rifle.

"C'mon guys. I can't do this." Kin struggles to find words. "I'm...I'm sorry, Captain. I know it was you who stabbed me, and I hated you for that. But it was and I hated. Past tense there. I'll never do something as despicable as this ever again."

He walks over and hands the gun to me.

"Take it. Shoot me. Do whatever you want with it. All of you. We're not just individuals. We work as a team. The Hospital Team. We need to come up with a better name, don't we."

"Yeah. That name sucks, Kin."

"Fuck you, Oda."

"No problem."

I look over at Chikao to see how he's taking this. He's probably very confu...What? His eyes are sparkling. Is this what he means by 'in Despair'? This doesn't seem to be negative, but it's creeping me out just a bit.

Everyone notices that I've been staring at him, and they look at Chikao, too.

"Uh...I'm nothing special...I feel under pressure with this many glares." He laughs extremely awkwardly. "You guys are just so full of Hope. It fills me with Despair." Now it's a smile. A crazed, insane smile.

"Is this what you meant by 'odd'?"

"Yes. Exactly this."

...

We explained everything to Chikao, and I explained what happened on our side of things. Chikao rarely spoke. I think it's because I never told him too. He's very sensitive to anything I say. I left out the part about Yumika knowing me so well.

"So you two were the ones who blew that building? It really shocked us. Hey, at least it was the enemy's base. That could have been us."

"So you are Taeki Mizoru?", The Nurse asks.

"...Yeah. I am. I'm 99% sure."

"Did I ever tell you how you got put into the hospital?"

I shake my head.

"This man who spoke no Japanese brought you in. Your legs were ripped into shreds. The man told me to fix you up, in English, of course. Then he left. That's the only thing I can remember when I was in a trance. I don't know why, but that scene really stuck with me."

"So…What were you all doing?"

"Ah. We found the place! It's a big house with two stories!"

"We split up. Half of us went to look for you, the other half went there with the nurse. They cam right back here when the found it. I didn't even have to use my gun at all."

"I didn't use it either."

"You almost did."

"I said I was sorry."

"C'mon, let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

We get there. It's a large house and nothing is broken. Nothing even appears to have been stolen.

"This place is really intact."

"My friend's house was actually destroyed. This is her neighbor's house."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine."

We get inside and I look around at the place around me. Everyone does their best to give me a tour. There's two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small living room. It'll have to do for now.

Surprisingly enough, the water works. I have no idea how, but it's surely a godsend. There's also a lot of food, but half of it has gone rotten. The electricity doesn't work.

As Tastuha had stated earlier, there are two floors. The top has the bedrooms and bathrooms and the bottom has the living room. There actually isn't very much space when you consider that eight of us will live here.

When night falls, we decide that we should keep all three guns on our person in case something happens. We don't know who will try to kill us in the night. I still have the rifle Kin gave to me.

I hear a loud rumbling sound and everyone goes to check it out. I hear a scream. It's coming from the bathroom. The door's locked. I knock really loudly.

"Is everything okay!"

"We're fine!", it's Togashi.

"This shower's just really loud! I think it's broken!", it's Saito.

"Ah, Why are both of them in there?"

"Maybe there's some'em going on in there…"

"Kin, you moron. Togashi doesn't have arms. How is she supposed to bathe herself?"

"Hehe…", he sighs, "You're right."

We quickly figure out that the other shower doesn't turn on if the other's being used. It sucks, but we can't be that picky considering our circumstances.

The three girls opted for the master bedroom. I got the couch. It's not like I could sleep on the ground. I don't have legs. There were two beds in the other room, so everyone else went there.

When daybreak hits us, I am the first one up. I don't want to wake anyone up, but I think that everything went well last night. Slowly but surely, everyone wakes up. The girls seem lively, but everyone else.

Kin grabs me by the shirt and shakes me back and forth like a zombie. He looks like he didn't sleep at all.

"What the hell, Captain. Who the fuck is that asshole?"

"That fucker kept sleep-talking all night. I think I'm going to go insane."

"Who?"

"It's morning? But I never fell asleep."

Tatsuha looks fine.

"What are they talking about?"

"I don't know. I slept fine. Then again, I can fall asleep with any kind of noise." He laughs timidly.

Chikao is the last one to wake up. He walks out as if he slept well. Murata, Oda, and Kin alls look right at him and drag him over to me.

"This fucker."

"What's wrong with him? He's a little cooky, yeah, but why are you all so angry?"

"Ask him. He refused to talk to us."

"Chikao. What did you do?"

"Oh, I have a habit of talking in my sleep. I often get vivid dreams. I'm sorry if I disturbed anyone."

"Disturbed anyone?", Murata gives a hearty laugh, "Do you know what kinds of things he said in his sleep?"

"What?"

"'They're spilling everywhere. His eyes, her love, his hope, her despair. Everyone's dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead…'. The 'dead' part went on for a while."

"That was a nice dream."

"A dream about people killing each other? What kind of psycho are you?"

"Look at his eyes."

They do.

"What about them?"

"Chikao, tell me about your favorite thing."

"My favorite thing? Oh! That's got to be Despair. I love Despair so much. It's what Lady Junko told us to give to the world. But imagine never getting what you want. That Despair! It's what I create. Despair gained from Hope."

Something within him shines a holy white color. They seem to get it. It's not like his eyes are actually changing their color, it's the way he looks at things and reacts.

"I'm sure you could tell, but Chikao is deep into Despair."

"You mean like those masked people who tried to kill us?"

"And that chick in the hospital?"

"Yes. Exactly that."

"I don't mean to doubt you, Captain, but why'd you let him come along with us?"

"Besides for having grotesque dreams and being slightly annoying, what has he done? He shows no signs of hurting any of us. Isn't that right, Chikao?"

"Yup."

"How come he only responds to you?"

"Something to do with whatever Taeki Mizoru did. I think I beat him around and ordered him to do crazy things. He'll do anything I ask. I'm not even joking."

"Like blow up a warehouse?"

"With C4."

"Damn."

Chikao keeps talking, "My goal is to give myself Despair, as with all who are in Despair try to do. Not having Despair is precisely what makes me Despair."

"…You can stop talking now."

Throughout the rest of the day, we finally got some time to explore the world around us. Murata, and Kin decided that they wanted to explore a bit. After I recommended that Chikao go along, the group suddenly switched to Tatsuha, Togashi, Oda, and Chikao. I told them that it was stupid to bring someone without arms and someone blind, but they told me that they are equivalent to one person when combined. I hesitantly agreed. If there's four of them, they should be fine.

While they were gone, the nurse helped me to walk. It's really difficult. Imagine not being able to control where the lower half of your legs are. It's like being on stilts at all times. Also, your stumps get really sweaty. It's quite nasty.

Murata and Kin just kinda vanished. I think they went their own way. I'll have to yell at them when they get back. We're not to split up that much. Suika made a giant pot of soup. I didn't know she could cook. It smells really good, too.

It's now nightfall, and I'm really fidgety. Where are Murata and Kin? The four who left earlier still aren't back, either. We can't eat without them.

There's a knock on the door. It's Togashi, Oda, Tastuha, and Chikao. They're all really dirty.

"You're back! We just got dinner ready."

Togashi speaks, "Can I take a shower, first?"

"Go ahead. Did you find anything?"

"We got some seeds. Carrot and strawberry."

"Anything else?"

They look at each other.

"Some string. And some clothes."

"Did you find anybody else?"

"Only the masked people. None of them attacked us, though."

"Well, nothing lost, nothing gained."

"Where's Kin and Murata?"

"I don't know, either. That's the issue we're having."

We eat, then we all go to bed. I wake up to the shower kicking on. Ugh. I told everyone to use the quieter shower. It was quieter by just a bit, but come on.

Time passes and the shower doesn't turn off. Why are they taking so long? And where are Murata and Kin? They still aren't back.

I get up, plop myself on my chair, and wheel myself over to the shower door. Suika, Togashi, the Nurse, and Oda are already there.

"Who's taking a shower at this time?"

"I don't know. I think Tastuha's still asleep. Murata and Kin are gone.", Oda says.

"Togashi already took a shower, so…"

"Where's Chikao?"

"Uh, we kicked him out to the hallway closet."

"You what?"

"It was his idea. He said that he didn't want to bother any of us."

I slammed on the door. "Chikao! Get out of there!"

He isn't responding at all.

"We're going to break open the door in 3…2…1!"

We all slam on the door and break the lock. Steam hits us in the face but we barrel forwards.

I open the shower door, and there he is. There, someone is. A head exploded, diluted blood makes pink water. He's dead.


	12. Chapter 12

Suika screams. It's quite the sight. A head exploded into a million pieces, the naked body, untouched. Blood is everywhere. On the walls, on the ceiling, on the ground. The Nurse goes and turns off the shower.

"Nobody move."

The Nurse stops.

"I don't want to say it was any of you, but I don't know. We need to solve this without it becoming a blame festival. Nurse, can you do an autopsy?"

"It's not my specialty, but I think I could do one."

I check the body first. The back of the head is completely destroyed. The front of the face is also torn apart. I can't really tell who it is. Judging by the rest of the body, it looks like it's Chikao. There are two bullets that seem like they missed their target. One in the shower, one piercing the glass. The grate to the air vent is gone.

"The three of you stay here. Make sure nobody tampers with the corpse."

"Okay."

I roll out the of the bathroom and wake up Tatsuha.

"Ah? Capi?"

"Chikao was murdered."

"Huh?", he leans up, not believing what I said. "You're joking, r-r…ight?"

"You can go see for yourself."

Tastuha pulls the covers off with a rush and sprints to the shower, as the steam makes it apparent that it had been used. He screams.

"Everybody listen carefully to what I'm going to say. I don't think Chikao's death came from the outside. It had to have been one of us."

"Why do you say that? Someone could have snuck in."

"Why kill just Chikao? I know that he was in Despair, but that's even better reasoning not to kill him out of all of the eight of us. If it was someone on our side, then they'd at least talk to us. It was one of us. I'm sure of it."

"So one of us is a murderer? How are we going to deal with them? It's not like we can call the cops."

"We have to find out who did it, though. If we don't, we'll forever doubt each other, thinking that they could have been the murderer.", my voice deepens, "Whoever it was, fess up now. It'll make everything go a lot quicker."

No one speaks.

"I see. Nurse, when and what was the cause of death?"

"The death was very recent. Probably about ten minutes before we found it. It was caused by a gunshot to the front of the head. He has no other injuries."

"Front of the head? Then he'd be looking right at the killer."

"There's nothing you can do when death's right in front of you."

I set my gun onto the bathroom counter.

"Tatsuha, give me your gun."

He does. It hasn't been fired, as it is full of ammo.

"Did your your gun ever leave your person?"

"No. You told us to keep it on us."

"You can check my gun. It hasn't been fired. It's been on me since Kin gave it to me."

I open each cabinet of the bathroom, including the mirror. There is nothing out of the ordinary.

"Capi, what are you looking for?"

"It could have been a suicide, but a suicide in a locked room is impossible without a gun."

I take a second to gather my thoughts.

"Everyone get into the living room. Make sure no one leaves or does anything suspicious. If any of you distrust me, follow me. No, someone, please. Follow me."

Tatsuha stands up.

"I'll go."

Tatsuha follows me into the master bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I don't distrust you, it's just th-"

"There's something off about this room."

"Hm? Off?"

"Where's the air vent? There's just a hole in the side of the wall."

Tatsuha climbs up on the bed and reaches his hand into the hole.

"I don't feel a metal grate or anything around here."

There's a roll of string on the ground and I pick it up. Tastuha and I look around for anything else, but we don't find anything, so we go into the other bathroom.

"The grate to the air vent is right here." Tatsuha picks it up and hands it to me. The screws make it seem impossible to unscrew from the outside. It looks like it was pushed from the inside to make it fall out. It doesn't look like the tub or sink have been used, considering that Chikao had been using the shower, it would have been impossible to use at the time. There's a piece of string on the ground. There's a stool in here, too.

"Ah, they may have used that to pull the grate off."

There's nothing odd about the other bedroom, or the kitchen.

We go to the hallway closet where Chikao was pushed to. It's very cramped in there. There's another metal grate in there, though.

"Hey, this is the one from the bathroom, right?"

I think I can go from here. We return to the living room.

"Where shall we start?"

"Well, who could have done it?"

"Couldn't it have been any of us?"

"What do you mean by that, Nurse?"

"Well, we were all in our beds, so assuming that one of us could get into the bathroom, no one would notice."

"But don't we share rooms? When Chikao woke us up last night, he woke all of us up. Well, except for Tastuha. If someone made a lot of noise, we'd notice right away."

"Uh, Capi, you don't share a room."

"Oda, who was in the room with you?"

"Tastuha. Murata and Kin are still gone and Chikao was in the closet so…Wait, you aren't suggesting that I could get up without Tastuha noticing."

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. That means that there are four suspects; Myself, Oda, Murata, and Kin."

"But Murata and Kin aren't here."

"Exactly. We have no idea what they were doing at the time. It could very easily be one or both of them."

"What about the girls? We don't know how deep of sleepers they are."

"I sleep normally, thank you very much."

"The shower woke us all up."

"Couldn't the killer have used the loudness of the shower to block out the sound of someone moving around?"

"Ah, but if the shower woke everyone but me up, then they'd be awake to see the culprit moving around."

"But I can't see."

"What?! I didn't do it! The door was locked! I couldn't have gotten in!"

"There was a window in there, right?"

"It was locked, too. And it's only lockable from the inside."

I put the metal grate onto the coffee table.

"There were the air vents. Tatsuha found this in the other bathroom."

Tatsuha sighs a bit.

Saito recognizes it. "Oh, that's not related to the murder, though. Last night, there was a hole above the bed, so we had Suika climb through it. It lead to the bathroom and she broke it. Sorry about that."

"Why Suika?"

"She was the smallest so…"

I put the second grate down onto the table.

"I found this in the hallway closet, where Chikao was sleeping."

"Why would it be there?"

"It's an easy place to hide something. We wouldn't normally had looked in there."

"So it was someone who didn't know that Chikao was in the closet."

"A girl."

"It could have been, Kin or Murata, too."

"Or...Capi."

Everyone gives me a long, hard look.

"So, Captain. I'm sorry, but everything points to you. You have a gun, you could have moved around without anyone noticing, and well...You'd have motive."

"I agree. It could have been me."

"Huh?"

"So far, in every evidence, something proves that it could have been me. Honestly, I'm not even frustrated in the slightest. It could very well have been me. Amnesia isn't just about forgetting the past. I wouldn't rule it out. However, the evidence still points to all of us. We still haven't figured out how the killer used the air vents to murder Chikao."

"Well, they climbed in the air vents from the bedroom, carrying a gun, shot Chikao from above the shower, and beelined it out of there."

"Beeline? You'd have to back out of the air vents. There's not enough room to turn around."

"Wouldn't someone be sleeping on the bed in the master bedroom?"

"Suika and I were. Togashi slept on the chair."

"They could have gone in from the bathroom. After all, the vent was missing from there, too."

"But if the shower was being used, then we know that the other bathroom wouldn't work."

"You could go for a poo."

"Tried it. Doesn't work, either."

"Why didn't Chikao use the other bathroom? Didn't we all agree to use the slightly quieter one?"

"Ah! That's why. Someone was using the quieter bathroom when Chikao went to shower. He didn't hear the other shower or the toilet flushing, but the door must have been locked. So went to take a shower in the louder bathroom. The killer must have did that so no one could hear the gunshots."

"But why hide the sound of the gunshot when we'd find the body anyways?"

"Time. Like we said earlier, you couldn't turn when you're in the air vent, so muffling the gunshots will give you enough time to get out of there and not have any suspicion placed upon you."

"Where'd the gun come from? I checked yours, Capi. It wasn't used any time recently."

"Nurse, do you have the bullet?"

"Uh, yes."

"Can I see it?"

She goes back into the bathroom and retrieves the bullet. She hands it to me. It's small.

"Tatsuha, hand me your gun."

He does. I remove a single bullet from each of our rifles. They are roughly the same size. The one from Chikao's head is much smaller and in a different shape.

"I think now we can say that this was not fired from Murata's rifle. This bullet was not shot by one of the three guns that we have."

"Then when did they get a new gun?"

"My guess is sometime while finding this place or looking for me."

"Actually, wouldn't it make more sense for it to have been while the four were gone? They were specifically looking for supplies and didn't really find anything. It would be easy to get split up at least once."

"Our group did get torn apart quite a bit. But nothing bad happened so we didn't report it…"

"Nurse, you mentioned this before. Why did you choose Suika to go through the vent?"

"She was small. I wanted to, but I doubted that I could fit."

"Oda, I think we can safely say that it wasn't you, either."

"Hm…Why?"

"You just became blind. You wouldn't even have seen an air vent, little less known it lead from the quiet to loud bathroom."

"Yeah."

"It couldn't have been myself, either. I don't have legs. Even if I had a stool, I wouldn't have enough balance to get myself in the air vent. And I'm not faking it, either. Ask Ms. Saito."

"Yeah. I'm still teaching him how to walk. up a ladder and he would definitely fall."

"That leaves Suika, Tatsuha, and Togashi."

"I couldn't have done it. I don't have arms."

"You don't have shoulders, either. You'd fit in there quite nicely. There was a stool in there. You wouldn't have to push yourself up."

"But I couldn't shoot a gun."

"I found this on the ground of the quiet bathroom."

I put the string I found on the table. It has a loop on each end.

"You put this around your toe, didn't you? Wrapped the other end on the trigger. Pull back with your chin. It's definitely possible."

She fakes a smile. Oh, it was her. It definitely was her. I don't know how, I don't know why, but she killed Chikao. She had to have.

"Where's the roll of the string?"

"Ah, give me a second. It should be on my nightstand."

He leaves and it takes a while before he comes back.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find it."

"It's alright. I got it."

I place it onto the table.

"What was the point of me looking for it, then?" Tatsuha is clearly angry at me.

"Proving your innocence. If you actually knew where it was, you'd overexaggerate looking for it. It was in the master bedroom anyways. I found it on the ground. I found cut string on the ground of the bathroom."

"So what are you saying by that?"

"One of the girls went into the other bedroom, knowing that Tatsuha had it and forgot to give it back to him. The only one who'd know that Tatsuha had it would be you, Togashi. You're the only woman who went outside today."

"Even if I did have the string, how could I made a loop that well without hands?"

Damn it. Good point. Shit. I have no idea.

"Well…" It's Oda's voice. "You did ask me to tie something for you, yesterday. I don't want to think that you killed Chikao, but you did, right?"

Something struck Togashi like a bullet to the heart. The person she liked the most here just called her out. She whipped her head around knowing with that info, she'd be called out.

"Nurse, Suika. Did Togashi ask to go to the bathroom just before Chikao went to shower?"

"I think. She said that she had diarrhea."

"Diarrhea? I don't get—"

"And who was the first person who be at the shower door?"

"Well, when I woke up, Suika was already awake. Togashi was already…there…"

"She couldn't possibly have gone to the bathroom for that long. And plus, how could she clean herself without hands? Isn't that suspicious?"

"But none of this is definitive evidence. Give me hard proof I killed Chikao!"

"You took a shower tonight, right? Well, I was with you. It's good to take a shower everyday."

"Yeah, so?"

"Why are you covered in dust?"

Togashi gives a scowl.

"You crawled through the vents. You were clean when you went to the bathroom tonight."

Togashi looks like she's about to burst. Fess up, criminal. We all know you did it. I told you to fess up earlier. I said it'd make things easier.

Something in her stirs, and she becomes calm.

"I did it. I killed Chikao. You're absolutely right. I used the air vent, I used the string. Thank you, Oda for so carefully tying it for me."

It's just like Shimizu Tae. Hateful.

"Why, Togashi? Why kill an innocent man?"

The Nurse leads an outburst.

"Today, I got separated from Tatsuha and Oda, only to be left with Chikao. At first, I didn't really mind it. He might be crazy, but he won't hurt me. That's what I thought. But then it struck me. I could kill him right now and it would do the world a favor. But I'm not a killer. That's what I thought. But then he spoke to me.

'Hey, Togashi. What happened to your arms?'

He was the first one to ask. So I told him. It all came back. You don't just go into a coma from pain. It's a mental blockage, too. My mind was blocking off the Despair that I felt. That I still feel.

Do you know what it's like to smell your own blood, to see your own arms writhe as their being cut off? Things like that are the things that drive someone 'mad' as you call it.

Despair isn't just a disease or virus. It's an emotion. It's an essential part to being human. And how could I have missed that? Shut off a part of myself. Even without arms, I am still human because I feel Despair. Because I feel sad, because I feel pain. So I gave Chikao his final Despair. The Hope of all you working together. The Hope that you, Captain, the one he admired, would find me, and eradicate it."

"He was looking right at you. The bullet went through the front of his head. Even though you missed, he stayed still for you."

"I think we should decide a punishment."

"Punishment?"

"There's no law. Yet she committed a crime. Everyone here, except for Togashi, of course, may give a single vote to one of three options. No punishment, restrictions, or execution. Each vote will change the severity of the final outcome. Who votes no punishment?"

Saito raises her hand.

"What is wrong with you people? You wish to execute her? She needs help, not an execution."

Tatsuha raises his hand.

"I'm with you, Nurse."

"Who votes for restrictions?"

Suika raises her hand.

"Oda, do you abstain, or do you want an execution?"

"Execution."

"What about you, Capi?"

"I vote for restriction, as well."

"It's okay. I'll decide the punishment.", Oda holds up a small pistol. What is he doing? "I'm blind and I only want to kill Togashi. I can't do that, though. I can't even kill someone in Despair." He points the gun at himself. "But I know where I am. I can kill myself."

No! No!

Togashi nudges his hand aside with her head. His hand drops and he fires. It hits her in the head. No one screams. No one says a word. Oda is shaking.

"Is this tears?"

"Oda, it's blood."

"Who did I kill?"

"Togashi."

True tears stream down his face, mixing with the blood that covers his whole body.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He drops the gun on the ground.

"It's okay. It wasn't…" Saito stops herself. It was definitely his fault. He won't stop crying, so all she can do is go in and give him a hug.

"It'll be okay, Oda."


	13. Chapter 13

A couple hours later, everyone settles. Everything's cleaned up now.

"Everyone." They're all in a trance, having been covered by blood, sweat, and in Saito and Oda's case, tears. "Because I don't want a repeat of that whole ordeal, I want you all to tell me, in detail, how you got your injury. It could be something else, even. We can't keep secrets. If you have to get something out, do it now. There won't be a chance later."

"Ah, I guess I'll start, then." It's Tatsuha. "My chin. It was after the Tragedy, yes, only a couple days. I went to college, I was going to be an electrician. Well, that went as planned." He laughs awkwardly. "I had to work on a construction site for money, you see. I was quite poor, I never had anything, really. There was a terrorist attack. It was my boss. He grabbed me, the closest one to him. He held me as a hostage, holding a knife to my throat. By my luck, a metal beam fell on him. It killed him, but the force of the beam sliced my chin off. Look who lived, though. It was very painful. I still have this bandage around my head because of it. I'm scared to take it off."

The Nurse goes and takes it off. Scabed all over, like scales on a reptile. It's flat there.

"You'll be fine."

Tatsuha looks really embarrassed.

"When you're all looking at me like that, it's scary."

"I'll go next, then." It's Suika this time. "I was bullied a lot as a kid because I was really shy. So I acted tough despite being, well, tiny. I became the mask so to speak. I was really confident and people at school would still mock me, but at least it was behind my back. I met my only friend, Cynthia. She was from Australia, but she was really nice and would cheer me up. She was moving back there so we decided to go to the plaza nearby. All I remember is bullets flying around. I just hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she is, Suika! We may find her! Ah, I remember them closing off the airports. She may still be around!"

"But then she never saw her family again."

"…I'm sorry."

It was silent for a second until Oda started talking.

"How I went blind? I should start a bit before that. My parents always wanted me to succeed at everything. They weren't tiger parents or anything, they just encouraged me. I got the best grades and scores because I studied a bunch. I ended up putting a lot of stress on myself and needed something to cool me off. I really wanted to become a Kuzuryu Yakuza, but I chickened out and joined a biker gang. The Crazy Diamonds. Just like that anime…Jojo? Riding on my bike was a perfect way to let off steam. I would do horrible things, mostly vandalism. I never directly hurt anyone. After our Big Boss died, our new Boss, his brother, was really supportive of us. Well, until he was accepted into Hope's Peak. At first, things weren't too bad, but then he stopped coming once the Tragedy really kicked off. Oowada murdered someone. We all watched. After his execution, my friend took me outside. He took the gasoline tank out of his bike and splashed it on us. I asked him what he was doing. He said that he's going to see Oowada. He lit himself on fire. That was the last thing I ever saw. A lot of the gasoline got into my eyes, but by the time I got to the hospital, all they could treat was my burns. And well, that's how I'm blind. I'm amazing that I didn't burn to death."

It's my turn.

"I don't know much about myself. But I can tell you what I do know, or at least what I've figured out. I went to high-school with Chikao and a woman named Yumika. I'm not sure where or what happened, but all three of us were enveloped by Despair and became commanders of sorts. Well, at least Yumika and I did. I was a horrible person. When I first met Chikao, he called me 'Fucker'."

"Eh?"

"He wasn't trying to be mean. I think I must have made some kind of sick joke and it stuck. I was a horrible person, though. I'd laugh at Chikao and told him to go kill himself. And I stabbed Kin. I don't remember any of it, but it's still something I did and something I'm capable of doing."

"What about you, Nurse?"

"I thought you all knew. I don't have any injury. I'm a nurse. I don't really remember anything."

"Oh come on, there has to be something, Nurse. Something you're embarrassed to tell."

She gives me a long look.

"I did experiments on my patients. Mikan did, too. It was quite common after the Tragedy. I didn't mean any ill. Anything I did was on people who were already going to die or things that wouldn't change anything. It's just…"

"What, Nurse?"

"…You have a question about how the human mind works and well…You can't quite figure it out without some testing." She squeaks. "I feel horrible about it! I really do! I just wanted to help humanity! Find cures to things!"

"It's okay, Ms. Saito. There's always a cost to a gain."

"…Sachiko."

"Sachiko?"

"That's my name. 'Nurse' is fine, but 'Ms. Saito' is too formal at this point."

"You all can call me 'Daisuke', too if you'd like."

"That'd be a great help."

"Actually, the 'suke' part uses a different kanji."

"Tatsuha, I don't think now is a good time for puns."

"Sorry…"

Sachiko and Daisuke look at Tatsuha and Suika.

"Hm? Suika's my first name. Suika Tekuza."

"Same."

"So we've been calling them by their first names all this time? I feel ashamed as a professional."

The stilted laughter echoes throughout the death-ridden house, and Kin and Murata are nowhere to be seen.


	14. Chapter 14

Murata! Where're you going!?"

"One of us need to venture out."

"Cap' already sent people. You were just sick because you didn't want to go with Despair kid."

"Shut up."

"Nope!"

Murata started walking away. I chased after him.

"Quit following me."

"If you're going, I'm going, too. Got your gun?"

"Yeah."

"Let's do this."

I set out because I wanted to find communications with someone else.

I set out because Murata was going to die like the moron he is.

Fuck you, Kin.

Thanks.

We came across one of those warehouses. There were a bunch of masked people, and they just kinda let us in without any disagreement. They gave us some grenades. We threw them back at them.

Well, after hearing what you did, Cap', we got inspired. We weren't about to let Despair win!

Actually, it was Chikao who blew up the warehouse. I told you that.

…

A-Anyways. We blew up the warehouse and it went KABOOM!

It did.

Then we wandered around for a while.

More like a couple months.

No, it was a couple weeks.

Where did you two even find any food?

Uh…Well…It was kinda hard to find at first, but we found patterns and kept with those tricks. Look in people's fridges.

No way.

Your sarcasm means nothing to me.

We also looked in the trash. There was some occasionally. There just wasn't much food at all. It ended up becoming our top priority.

There weren't many people around, either, not even the masked people. It was quite lonely.

Hey, I was there for you, Murata.

I thought I told you to stop following me.

Okay, okay. Just tell me how you met Hanamoto.

Well, we met a guy before that. We thought that it was just another body, but then he noticed that we weren't wearing masks.

"Hey! You guys aren't wearing masks. And you don't seem like you want to kill me, either. Well, that's a first.", he said that.

He had soft, pale grey-blue hair and a soft, pale face. He was carrying a backpack, too.

Yeah. Soft is the right word to describe him.

"Ah. I'm Kaoru Kaneko. What's your names?"

"I'm Kin Kawasaki."

"Isamu Murata."

Kin is your first name?

Yeah.

But didn't you introduce yourself at the hospital with your first name first?

It is called a first name, after all.

Then why'd you…

Captain. Just don't question it.

"So, what are you two doing around here?"

He was carrying a rifle and slightly lowered it.

Shouldn't you have mentioned that earlier?

Yeah.

"We were looking for some kind of sanctuary."

"And food."

"Do you know of any places?"

"Ah! The Future Foundation has a place. It's quite a while away, though. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get there."

"Why aren't you there?"

"You see, the truth is that I'm looking for the home I grew up in. I was at the Future Foundation base for quite a while. They have pretty good food, if that's what you're looking for."

"Do you have any directions?"

"It's at the top of the hill. Take a right, then go straight. Although, you'll have to go through a lot of Monobears. There's quite a few on the route over there. Actually, I'm looking for a place, too. It's a nice neighborhood, close to a hospital. There's a large monument nearby."

"Oh. We came from there. Just keep down this street."

"We wanted to be able to find our way back, so we just went down this street. There should be six other people there. Maybe you'll find them."

"Hey, what's the Future Foundation?"

"Eh? You don't know? They're a group of people who are trying to break us out of these Despair-filled times and into a hopeful one. Most of their leaders come from Hope's Peak Academy. Like the Ultimate Farmer, Ultimate Boxer, and a bunch of others. There's some weird politics always going on, but it's better than nothing, I guess."

"What about Tsumiki Mikan?", she was an Ultimate, too. I remember Nurse bringing it up.

"Tsumiki Mikan?!", he was suddenly shocked.

"What about her?"

"You've seen her?!"

"She was at the hospital a couple weeks ago."

"A month?", I shrugged.

"The Future Foundation has put her on high alert. If you can capture her alive, they're giving out huge rewards. She's a Remnant of Despair. Ah, you probably don't know that, either. Just avoid them. Avoid her."

"We were stuck in a hospital until after all this crap happened, so it's not our faults that we don't know anything."

"Ah, I see. Well, best of luck finding the base."

"See ya again, Kaoru.", we began to walk off.

"Huh? My first name?"

Did Kaoru ever come here?

Eh, not yet.

Maybe he'll stop by soon.

So what happened after that?

Oh, yeah. Well, we followed what he said and went to the top of the hill. Holy crap getting to the top of that hill was hell.

Yeah. I swear it was frickin' impossible.

Frickn'? Fucking impossible.

But you did it, didn't you?

Well, yeah.

You see, unlike around here, those masked people don't give you grenades.

Yeah they do. They throw them right at your face!

And shoot at you at first sight! They were literally everywhere.

One time, one of them popped out of nowhere and aimed a gun at us. Right as it was about to shoot, I threw a grenade at it and it hit it smack in the face. Threw it so hard the guy fell over. We ran away before he could get up and the grenade exploded.

Nice going, Kin.

Do you really have to clap for something like that?

Yes.

Shut up, Cap'.

So what else?

Well, we came across one of the leaders. I think you mentioned her. Yumika Tamaki.

She's alive? But she was in the warehouse when we blew it up.

Yeah. She's alive. We had some of those masks from before. So we put them on.

Actually, I didn't trust them, so I put a thing of paper between them and our face. I cut holes for the eyes, obviously. It worked, though. We weren't overcome by Despair.

That way, the masks wouldn't attack us.

Did it work?

Yeah. It did. The only drawback was that normal people would shoot at us. The one time they did, it was a girl with a megaphone. She shot some blue thing at us and nothing happened.

"Huh? Nothing…happened?"

Her subordinates were going to shoot us with real guns but we took our masks off and they didn't.

"Woah!"

"Stop! We're not the bad guys! I think."

"Don't shoot. They don't seem malicious." She paused. "But why didn't the hacking gun work."

"We're just using the masks as a disguise, they aren't active."

"That's genius!"

It was kinda strange when she said that. She seemed very excited that we came up with something like that.

"I'm Atsuko Hanamoto. I'm from the Future Foundation."

"Hey, we were going to your base. We heard it was this way."

"It's very close by. If you two need somewhere to stay, our doors are open to any Hope-filled persons."

"Uh, Ms. Hanamoto, are you sure they're not in Despair? They could be trying to sabotage us."

"Why would they go out of their way to stop from getting Despair if they were already in it? They would have already killed us by now."

Her subordinate flinched. Hanamoto was so kind to us.

So pretty, too.

No one wants to hear your ramblings, Kin.

"Uh, actually, we gotta' bunch of guys waiting for us to bring some info. The area's mostly empty."

"We need support."

"Can you point it out?"

She rolled a huge map out onto the floor. Murata pointed it out.

"I'll see what I can do. The Future Foundation is having some…issues…right now. It's all under wraps. Classified info."

"I see…"

"So can you help us?"

"Probably not."

"Huh?"

"Well, probably not right now. It'll take a while until we get things sorted out. You see, there's hundreds of people like you. We're doing the best we can…Like I said, I'll see what I can do. It may not be much, but take my gun." She handed Kin a pistol. "You people seem smart. I'll do my best to help you all, even if it takes a while." She remembered something. "If you still want to go to the base, just mention my name and this weird gun. They'll know it was me instantly." She turned to her crew. "Shall we go?"

And they left.

That was it?

Yeah.

Well, we did go to the base. The guards let us in once we did what she said.

So many normal people!

It was gigantic!

I almost died I was so happy.

Although, everyone was scared. It was depressing there.

We got some more seeds, though.

Woah! That's great! Fruits, veggies! Perfect!

Oh, and we met this guy while we were eating. He was a scientist or something.

"Are you two new here? I hope this place can accommodate you properly."

"We're not staying. We went here to get support. We have a couple friends a while back."

"Well, we do our best, although right now we aren't doing much. I take it you've been around in the outside. Have you seen any irregularities in Despair?"

"Irregularities?"

"Anything strange. Non-hostile Monokumas, special warehouses, things like that."

"There was this kid who was in Despair, but he wasn't evil or anything."

"Interesting."

"Oh, and there's our Cap'…tain."

I'm so used to just calling you Cap' now.

"What about him? He's pretty normal."

"Well, he was in Despair, now he's not. That seems pretty weird."

The scientist's eyes widened and he slammed his hand onto the table.

"A way to cure Despair?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"How?"

"He was hit by a grenade. I think it destroyed part of his brain and someone stitched it back together. He has no memories, though."

"Do you know the doctor who did that?"

"Nope."

I lied. We knew. It was Mikan Tsumiki. But Kaoru said to ignore her, so I did. I don't even know the scientist's name. Why'd I tell him something as important as that?

After that, we left.

We got here without any complications.

Well, I'm glad you're okay, Kin, Murata. Just don't ditch us ever again, you hear me?

Yes.

Yes.

So, uh, Cap'…What happened on your end?

Um…

Captain?

…

I had to tell Murata and Kin about the murder. They were shocked to say the least. Well, all of us are here now even if it's just the seven of us. It's sad, but we have to move on with our lives. Even if no one's going to come and save us, even if the Future Foundation never helps us, we're going to make this home a sanctuary of our own. We have seeds, a bunch of pots, and a whole neighborhood at our disposal. We'll be fine, I'm sure of it.


	15. Chapter 15

My name is Kaoru Kaneko. My first name means 'Fragrance', my last name means 'Golden Child'. My first name isn't that important. At least, in this world, my last name isn't really important, either. But it's true. I really am a golden child. My parents had all the money someone could want. We lived in a nice house, but it wasn't a mansion or anything. My parents wanted to live a good life, not one that reminded them constantly of their material wealth. I went to a nice school, had a bunch of nice friends, had a nice sister. Had, that is.

It's all gone now. I've accepted that fact.

My parents died at the beginning of the Tragedy, before the government self-destructed. It was in a riot. They were coming home from work. Slowly, as each of my relatives were picked off, the money got gradually closer and closer to me. My younger sister and I. We had it all.

The moment my parents died, my sister and I knew what was going to happen. The apocalypse. Everything was going to end. We knew having money in bank would be worthless. We knew having physical cash would be worthless. So we bought hundreds of millions of yen worth of antiques, paintings, jewellery, all the physical weath that we missed out on. Not because we wanted the wealth, mind you. It's because we knew that all this stuff would be destroyed. Like our parents, someone would never get the chance to see such beauty every again. We had to save it. We stuffed all the stuff in a sprawling basement and covered it so that no one would ever find it.

The riots eventually got to our street. People with masks toar down the road, smashed into every other house and robbed, killed, pillaged, everything. Our house was no exception. But we hid everything and they never found it. I remember that day so clearly. I see it again every now and then. Everything she did. It's all because of me. I can't lose hope now.

"Hey, brother."

"Yeah?"

"They're at the door."

"I hear them."

"Go hide in the basement."

"I'm not wimping out."

"I'm not, either."

She grabbed the rifle out of my arms.

"Hey! Don't take the gun! They'll kill you! Mika. Please, don't leave me."

"Kaoru. If they find nothing here, they'll burn it down. Just look across the street. You have to go. Hide yourself."

"Mika. I'm not leaving you. We die together."

She pushed me, and I fell over, onto where the trap door was located.

"Go, Kaoru. Live. No matter what happens, you'll remember me?"

She smiled.

"Like how they'll remember all the things we saved. Even if I die, even if I fall into Despair, remember me, okay? You have a furture. I'm going to give you that by the cost of my own future. Maybe I'll make it out. You have to go, Kaoru. Go!"

I opened the hatch and closed it. She covered it up. I could hear her through the floorboards. I had to make not even a whimper, but I couldn't leave her. Mika was ready to die for me. She waited patiently by the door as the masked people knocked it down.

She shot at them. As soon as my ears stopped ringing, I heard a scream. Mika. What are they doing to you? It felt like days I was down there, listening to my sister's screams of torture and sheer despair. All I could do was listen. Listen to the cacophony. I sincerely have no idea how long the pain lasted. All I know is that when they left, I slammed open the hatch and went Mika.

I fell to my knees as soon as I saw her body. I refuse to describe the way she looked at that time. I gagged when I laid eyes upon her. I don't want anyone else even to imagine it, I don't want anyone to feel the pain I felt.

She was dead. I knew that. Just by a glance, anyone could tell that such torture was to inflict death upon anyone. My sister, dead because these people wanted to spread 'Despair'. I was angry, but I couldn't lash out the fire I felt inside because that would make everything that she went through meaningless. So I cried. I didn't want to be like them, causing hatred and sadness. What would Mika think of that?

"K…Kaoru."

God, why do you mock me. Why did you make her say my name?

"I hate you, Kaoru. Why'd you leave me, Kaoru?"

Pain swept across every fiber of my being. Then, it washed away with relief. Even if she hates me, even if the last person I knew hated me beyond belief, I knew it was fine because she was alive.

I'll save you, Mika. I'll save you from Despair. Give you one last bit of Hope before you die. After all, that's what you gave me.

I wonder how many people have had a life just like mine? A life normal until everything falls? Should I be happy knowing that something interesting happened? No. I shouldn't be sad, either. It's not our faults, the only thing we can do is live on, anyways.

I push myself up off the cement. It always frightens me to sleep outside, but as long as I have this backpack, I feel safe. It's something Mika stitched for me, and I feel guilty putting weapons in it, but it's something I have to do. I'm sure she'd understand. She's all scarred over now, but at least she's alive.

Every time I see another one of these Monokuma masks, I get angry. I always want to tear them to shreds, carve them, make them my pincushion, like what they did to Mika, but I stop myself. I get angry, but I make it swift. These things don't deserve an interesting, painful death. They need the end, and they need it quick.

I guess everyone sees Hope in a different way.

I met two people named Murata and Kin. They were nice enough. Ever since I left the Future Foundation place, I've been wandering around, looking. I still can't find it. They came from that area so they gave me directions. I'm going home. Once I find it, I can sell some stuff and help find a cure for Mika. Maybe a therapist. She's not violent, just…Apathetical. Evidently, there's quite a few people like her. The Future Foundation had free hospitals set up for those types of people. I'm glad someone cares.

I use the directions they gave me and continue down the street. I get lost a lot, but that's fine. I'm making a map. Easiest ways to avoid the Monomasks and the best routes. It'll help someone down the line.

When I made it back home, it was like a breath of fresh dust. My eyes watered and I couldn't see anything around me. I don't know if I was crying because there was grime in my eye or because my memories of Mika and my parents. I picked up some painting.

On my way back, I met another guy. I don't remember his name, but he told me some shocking details. He said that there was another killing game. A second one. But this time it was with the Future Foundation members. I couldn't believe it. Some people were in there since the first one, like the Ultimate Hope, Makoto Naegi. From what the guy told me, everyone else there is pissed because he helped the Remnants of Despair. They think he's a traitor.

What crap.

Watching the first killing game, I really respect Naegi. He did his best in such a horrible situation. If only I could have done the same to help Mika. After all, I'm no Ultimate. I'm just me. Kaoru Kaneko.

…

I watched Makoto Naegi fight Despair. After a couple hours seeing each Future Foundation leader being picked off like livestock, I couldn't take it anymore.

I brought back a painting, and evidently, it was done by some famous person. The Future Foundation bought it off me. I told them about my sister and they said that they'd look after her. They actually seemed to think that they may be able to help her. One of the doctors said that he devised a new method, but it comes with some risk. I told him to do it, immediately. I think I made the right choice. She's dead inside as it is, so even if it's a risk, I'm going to save her.

They told me what may happen to her. They said that she may die. They said that there was a 40% chance she'd die. That's actually not that bad. They said if it goes through, there would be some side effects. The procedure includes combustion of the brain, so there will be some scarring and some personality changes. This is the second time they've done this, so they're not sure how it'll go. It succeeded last time, but the subject became unable to think properly.

Mika will live. She may not be the same, and she may always need to have me by her side, but she's my only family left, and I'm not willing to let her die. She will live.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mika. Please. Say something."

She looks at me, and her pupils dilate to the flashing light behind my face.

"…Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital, Mika."

"…Mika? Is that my…name?"

Something within me plummets. All the doubt, all the fear, everything lost due to something that's entirely my fault.

"Yes, Mika is your name. I was your brother."

"Was?"

I don't want to respond. I'm no longer worthy to be called a brother. Especially not after what I let happen to her.

"I let something bad happen to you. And for that, I'm sorry."

"Ah, I see."

She lifts a hand into the air with the most gentle of grasps. She uses the tips of her fingers and smoothly strokes the peach fuzz on my face.

"Why are you so soft?"

She put her other hand on her own face. All that's left of her skin is scars. Stitches cover the top of her head, those are from the surgery, but those are not the most concerning. Holes. Poked holed. From pins. From tacks. From needles. All sewn together with irremovable string forming a constellation. Her face, feet, back, arms, legs, are all no exception to the pain she went through.

I touch her face. A gesture for someone I love.

"It's because you saved me. It's why your skin is rough."

"My skin?"

"Yes, your skin."

A teardrop runs down my face. I hug my sister.

"Thank you, Mika. You saved my life and this is what you got. You told me not to feel sorry, so instead, I'll give my gratitude. Even if you're not the same Mika, you're still my only sister, even if I don't deserve to be your brother."

She pushes against my body as if she's never had a hug before. She probably hasn't. She gets the gesture and wraps her arms around my waist.

"Hello, Kaoru."

I release my grip and stare at the man in the hallway.

"Hello, Doc."

"As you can see, the procedure was a success. Well, mostly."

"What did you do to her?"

"She has none of her memories, but perhaps that was for the better. She also will emote less."

"Emote less?"

"Cold, rude, apathetic. All words to describe how she'll be."

"Is she in Despair?"

"No."

"Hm? Wait. Really?"

"Yes. She is out of it. Luckily, she wasn't in Despair enough, so we didn't have to remove much. She should have minor short-term memory loss, as well."

"Remove?"

"Yes. We told you what the procedure was like. And as long as she's fine, that's what you wanted, right?"

I gave a distasteful look.

"Do you still have it?"

"What?"

"The parts you removed."

"We don't dispose of—"

"I want them. I really want them."

"I can't really—"

"I gave my sister up as a guinea pig for your scientific research. The least you could do is give me back the parts of her brain that you cut out."

"I told you that it relies upon combustion, not cutting."

"Don't fuck with me."

…

I gave Mika back the rest of her brain. We put it in the fridge at the house. It's in the basement, so I don't think anyone will touch it.

Mika's memory is completely gone, so I walked around teaching her about the world and about why everything's destroyed. She doesn't really seem to mind. She's the happiest I've ever seen her, although that doctor was right. I have to tell her things over and over again because she forgets. It's only with names, really. But she still is Mika. Most of her personality is intact. Well, she acts a lot more like a child.

Mika and I were walking around the neighborhood we lived in, and we came across another house. There were a ton of plants growing outside. I heard voices so I was skeptical. I held my gun up against the door, and shoved Mika behind me. I knocked.

Silence filled the air with its foggy breath. Then the door opened.

"Hey. This better not be a pr—"

I held my gun up to his face. I know this man. Black hair, strong-looking. I lowered it.

"Your name was Murata, right?"

"Yeah. You're Kodaka."

"Kaoru."

"Ah, sorry." He turned around. "Captain! Kaoru's here!"

Someone stumbled over to the door. He put his hand on the wall, like he was using it for balance. He looked exhausted. Pale white skin, thin, ratty black hair. His eyes were very droopy, like they were going to fall off his face.

"Come in."

I pulled Mika by the wrist into the house and sat on the couch. At least her hands weren't sullied. Their captain also sat down.

"So you're Kaoru Kaneko."

"Ah, yes."

"Murata and Kin said that you would drop by. Although that was a couple months ago."

"I had some complications with…my sister."

"Is that her?"

"Yeah. She doesn't talk much."

"I don't want to delve too deeply into your personal life, but I'm concerned. You were just around here. There must be some troubling issue. It doesn't take months to walk a couple miles."

"They found a way to remove the Despair from someone. My sister is the product of that."

"They? The Future Foundation?"

"Well, yes. But it's still in development. And there's horrible side effects."

"Like?"

"Memory loss."

Their captain looked right at his subordinates. Specifically, Murata and Kin.

"Who did you tell?"

"N-N…no one?"

"It was a doctor. He asked, okay?"

"We didn't say anything about the stuff that Mik—"

Murata put his hand over Kin's mouth. Panic spread within me. How did they know?

"How? How did you know about Mika's procedure?"

"Mika? Who's that?"

I sat down. What? I'm sure I heard Mika. Murata and Kin look at each other.

"Mikan Tsumiki. She's the one who took me out of Despair. Well, saved me from dying. I was hit by a grenade, and it destroyed half of my brain. Probably the reason I ended up better off than your sister is because I was fixed up by the Ultimate Nurse. Her talent is nothing to scoff at."

"My sister won't talk to anyone but myself. I've tried, but I'm always forced to say things for her. I see that you don't have the same issue."

A small girl piped up. She had long blondish hair that had obviously been dyed due to the thick, black roots. She walked up to Mika.

"What's your name, Miss?"

Mika stared back. She looked at me for help. I wouldn't give any.

"N…name…miss…miss…Mika. My name is that."

Mika looked at me to see if she did it right. I strained my face to smile in confirmation. When was the last time I did that?

"Well, hello then, Mika."

"…Hello."

"So, Mika. Who's this?"

"M-My…brother. Kaoru. Kaoru is his name."

"Oh, so you're related?"

She nodded so gently, it was hard to tell if she even moved. The girl grabbed Mika's hand.

"I'm Suika. I'd love to be your friend."

"S…sssss…suika?"

"Say it with confidence!"

"S-Suika!"

"Perfect!"

I'm surprised that no one has asked about Mika's skin. It isn't exactly hard to notice. People always will stare, comment, and make rude gestures. They don't seem to really care here. Maybe…We should stay.

"How many people are here?"

"Including you, nine."

"Ah, that's the original number, right?"

There was a wave of silence. All the people here looked around at each other, as if remembering that their friends died. Two of them did, then. I'm not sure how, but it must have been painful. These people seem to have gone through a lot.

"Tatsuha, what the fuck?"

"I'm sorry, Murata!"

"Both of you, calm down." A woman stepped forwards, she seemed very calm. She had sleek, black hair. She walked towards Mika. "Mika. Is it alright if I take a look at you? I'm a nurse."

Mika looked at me, puppy eyed. When I didn't respond, she tried her best to.

"I-I-I-I…Uh…I-"

"Go ahead."

Mika let out a breath of relief. She really struggled just to say yes.

"Follow me."

"Wait a moment. I don't trust you. Hell, I don't even know your name."

"Sachiko Saito. You can come, too, if you'd like. It may be a bit awkward for the both of you."

I followed Mika and Saito into a bedroom.

"You two can sit down."

We sat on the bed. Saito examined the wounds and Mika reeled back a bit, but after I assured her that it would be okay, she calmed down. She looked at the wounds on her chest and back, as well, injuries I've never seen. When the world's like this, no one's taking showers.

"Well then, these are some pretty nasty wounds." And you think I don't know that. "However, she won't die from them. The worst that will happen is the wire will puncture the skin. I can remove the wire and string, but it will leave a scar. And it will be very painful."

I looked at Mika. She looked at me.

"Mika, I can't choose everything for you, make your own decision for once."

"Well, what do you say, Mika?"

"Uh…I-I…"

She stared down at her lap for a while. She held up her arm and traced her finger across the bulging part in her skin. I saw that this Mika was no longer the Mika I knew. She still was my sister, but someone different, someone who had to take time to think, someone less rash, and someone more soft.

"T-T…T-This is the way I am, right? The way I woke up." She looked upwards. "Even still, if it makes me more human, please, remove the wire."

"Alright then. However, you will have to stay here for a couple months. Something like this will not heal so quickly." Saito's face turned pale. "If you got the operation at the Future Foundation, why didn't they offer to help her?"

"The only reason they gave us help was so we could be their guinea pig. Mika was alive and able to walk. They wouldn't throw around their doctors so easily."

"I see. Well, we have extra room and there's a hospital nearby. Actually, Cap told us to get more people here. Maybe we could make this a new sanctuary. So if you know anyone, tell them to come."

"Yeah. I will."

…

While Mika was healing up, the sanctuary grew quite a bit. There's about twenty people here now. We had to reach out into the other houses nearby, but everything seems to be working out. We grow a lot of food ourselves, too. Cap really wanted to make sure that food would not be a problem.

Cap really is an interesting guy. He seems to be able to walk around without too much trouble now, which is a lot better than when I first got here. The other people here are nice, too.

Suika really became friends with Mika. So far, Mika only talks openly to her, the nurse, and myself, of course. I'm glad that Mika has opened up a bit.

They always talk about how overcoming something makes you stronger. I guess they were right.


	17. Chapter 17

Explosions trailed off behind us and my hair flew back due to the blast.

"So I guess this is it, then."

"I knew you'd leave us. It was inevitable."

"Taeki's not the same anymore."

"I know."

"He lost his memories. He doesn't remember you, me, Shimizu, Junko, or anything at all. All of it was lost. Especially his memories of you, Yumika."

My face scrunched up. This fucker. I knew exactly what he was doing. I'd known him for too long.

"I like him better this way. He's the Hope that'll kill us."

He needed to hear what he wanted to.

"Taeki? I don't doubt it. The most unlikely suspect is always the killer."

"So, you're going then?"

"Yeah."

"Don't die."

"I won't."

"I'm not saying this as a friendly gesture." A pillar fell behind us. "I'm honestly scared of what will happen if you die. So, in short, don't."

"Bye, Yumika."

So when I open my eyes in the morning, the thing I expect to see the least is Chikao's eyes sputtering around the room. I lean upwards in my cot, and stare right at him. He's got his knees up, sitting on the chair in the corner. He's pretty skinny, although fatter than before. I don't see his cheekbone now. That's a first. He always dyed his hair dark green, and it's starting to grow back in black.

When he sees that I've awaken he waves.

"Hello."

"Chikao. I thought you left."

"I did." He looks up and smiles. Chikao…Smiled? "I had an epiphany and came back."

What is he going on about?

"Ah, I don't want to disturb you, but I know you'll listen anyways."

I stand and pick up a knife on my bedstand. I'm just wearing my pajamas, but I don't care. When Chikao starts talking like this, it's definitely not a good sign. He's crazy enough as it is. Well, I guess, aren't we all?

"Woah, woah. Don't get hasty."

"I don't trust you."

"You don't trust your friend since high-school?"

"You don't get kicked out of Hope's Peak for no reason."

"Hey, you were involved, too. That's why you're my friend."

"I'm not your friend. You should know that best."

"Then why'd you keep me around all that time?"

Chikao rests his head between his knees and wraps his arms around them all. He's too confident. I don't want to admit it, but I can't let him roam around. Not with a talent like his.

"…"

I can't respond.

"I know the answer went *ping* in your head. My Ultimate Talent."

"You're no Ultimate.", I snap. "You're just like Taeki and I. Worthless. Why else were we in the Reserve Course?"

"Ah, and that's what I thought. But you see, I got a scholarship into the Reserve Course. That usually doesn't happen."

"What?"

What is he talking about?

"They wanted my talent so bad, but I just wanted to go to a normal school. So, naturally, we found a compromise. You also wanted my talent, well probably more to watch me. That's one of the reasons that you're in Despair. You're scared. So scared."

"Considering what happened last time, I am pretty scared of you, Chikao."

"I'm not talking about that. You kept me around so they they won't kill you. If they find out that a precious Reserve Course student is walking around all willy-nilly, and not dead via suicide, who knows what'll happen."

"But we weren't Reserve Course students! We were kicked out before the suicides started!"

"Ah, what was I saying earlier? Oh yeah. I'm a new Chikao now. I went to Towa city to see how Hope was doing. And everything was taken over by kids! It's amazing to see what can happen in a couple days. I talked to someone there. He told me that when you overcome Despair, the Hope is always greater. I agree. Despair is weak. That's why I love it. Then he tried to kill me once he figured out who I was. That didn't end up so well."

"Chikao. I'm going to stab you."

"No you aren't. You know what happens if I try to die."

"I never said that I would kill you. Just stab you."

"Ooh. Getting violent." He hops onto his feet. "Let's play, then."

I slash and slash, but nothing hits.

"You really need to get in the habit of practicing more. Ooh."

After a quick miss, a line of pink dribbles down his cheek.

"Fight back, Chikao."

"Fight back? No way. I mean, in a battle between hero and villain, the hero will always win, right?"

"I won't lo…" I tried to pinch off that last word. "Lo…" I couldn't. "I'm not a villain." It finally struck me. What the hell am I doing? Trying to kill someone? I don't want to kill him. I lowered my knife. "Is this…What you were trying to do?" Is this Despair? Why would anyone like this feeling? This horrible, shivering, piercing feeling? I'm drooling. I'm sweating. I'm horrible. I fell to me knees. How many people have I killed? Did I even think about it once? I couldn't even hear Chikao as he stepped closer and closer. He crouches and tilts my head up to him. He smiles a deathly smile, full of deathly colors. I feel his heated breath singe the hairs of my face. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'

Pink. I blink and the pinkness spreads across my eye like a tear. Through my other eye, I realize what's happened.

"Ha…You didn't want to kill me." His laugh is stricken pale. "The hero always wins. I told you that."

Real tears wash away those in pink. My knife, in his chest. Pink, splattered everywhere. My spirit crushed, my soul broken.

"I'm no…Hero…"

"What's…Despair to you? You…ha…saw it…didn't you? Your Despair."

He started to drop, and he reached his hand up to grasp my face, but instead it crumbled, and fell with him.

So this is Despair.

I stood up, dripping. Then what's Hope?


End file.
